The invention relates to a converter socket for connecting a multiple pin component to a plurality of sockets attached to a circuit board.
For a variety of reasons, manufacturers of electronic circuit boards use sockets as a means for connecting integrated circuits (ICs) to a circuit board. However, ICs are more commonly soldered directly to the printed circuit board (PCB). Each pin of the IC is inserted into a plated through hole in the PCB. Solder is then applied to electrically connect the pin to the walls of the plated through hole. Since the solder will provide an electrical connection even if the pin is thin relative to the hole diameter, manufacturers of ICs typically do not control the dimensions of the pins to a high degree of precision. Rather, to reduce costs, a manufacturing process is used which yields pins having dimensions which vary over a wide range (i.e., a coarse tolerance).
Accordingly, conventional circuit board sockets are designed to accommodate pins having a wide range of diameters (i.e., pins having a coarse tolerance). In order to accommodate pins of relatively narrow diameters, these sockets tend to engage the relatively wide pins with a degree of friction which far exceeds that required to yield the desired electrical contact. As a result, the aggregate frictional forces caused by the engagement of a large number of IC pins with their companion sockets can be sufficiently large to require the use of specialized tools to assist in extracting and inserting the IC.